


Hellfire

by DarkAdrenaline



Category: Supernatural, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angels, Blood and Gore, Explicit Language, F/M, Holts as Winchesters, Horror, Kidge - Freeform, Rating May Change, So many possible pairings, Started as a 5+1 and derailed from there whoops, Supernatural AU - Freeform, Violence, but kidge is the main, crossroad demons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2020-07-31 13:33:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20115910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkAdrenaline/pseuds/DarkAdrenaline
Summary: Five times hunter Pidge Holt bargained with the wayward demon Keith, and one time that he bargained with her.





	1. Prologue - Bad Moon Rising

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Series Inspiration** \- Barns Courtney, "Hellfire"
> 
> **Chapter Songs**  
1\. Creedance Clearwater Revival, "Bad Moon Rising"  
2\. 69daysofstatic, "Drove Through Ghosts to Get Here"  
3\. Barns Courtney, "Rather Die"

**2 Months Ago**

“Give me your knife.”

“Why?”

“So I can gouge my eyes out.”

Matt barked out a laugh, side-eyeing his sister in the passenger seat of the Impala. The scowl on her face as she read over their dad’s journal by flashlight just encouraged his mirth. “It’s a beautiful, natural act Pidge! You’re just jealous I got some action before you did.”

Katie (or Pidge as Matt loved to refer to her as) scoffed and smacked his shoulder with the flashlight-bearing hand. “Yeah. Sure, that’s totally what that is. You and the double-mint twins were a beautiful sight to my poor, jealous eyes.” She shuddered and refocused on the journal open in her lap.

“Oh, cry me a river-“ The ringing of her cell phone cut into Matt’s childish retort, and Katie fumbled with the journal and flashlight as she fished the phone out of her jacket pocket. She huffed and held it against her ear using her shoulder as she adjusted her grip on the journal again.

“Katie here.”

_‘Are you sitting on your phone, girl? You usually answer faster than that.’_

“Hey, Coran—and whatever—blame Matt. What’s up?”

_‘You kids better pack it up and head towards Lincoln—I think I finally found something. Crop failure and a cicada swarm… doesn’t seem like much but it’s a start.’ _

Katie blew out a sharp breath and snapped the journal closed. She reached for the map in the glove compartment and readjusted the phone so it snugly fit between her shoulder and ear. 

Grabbing a pen from her jacket pocket, she uncapped it using her mouth. “Give me the closest coordinates.” She mumbled around the cap, marking on the map as the older man rattled off a series of numbers, and then spat the pen cap out into her lap. “Right. Thanks, Coran—we’ll see you in a while.”

“What’d the old man say?” Matt turned his head to look at her, glancing down at the map briefly before darting his eyes back up towards her own.

“Few signs towards Lincoln—not much, but Coran says it looks like standard crop failure and a cicada swarm.” Matt huffed out a breath, shifting in his seat as he considered her words - both signs alone were nothing to worry about, but two were indicative of something demonic at hand.

“Eh...not really biblical plague worthy. Any freaky deaths?”

Katie frowned and reached for her now cold coffee, taking a sip and sticking her tongue out at the temperature. “None yet, but with the Devil’s Gate open—"

“-it could be _Apocalypse Now_, but five days and nothing,” Matt interrupted.

“It’s weird.” She reluctantly agreed to his strange analogy.

The older shrugged, flicking a button on the stereo to eject the current tape and motioning for Katie to hand him another.

“I’m just saying, what are the demons waiting for?”

“Beats me.” Shuffling the items in her lap so she could reach the box of old tapes under her seat, she pulled up the box and started rifling through the selection. “It’s been driving me crazy though.”

“If it’s gonna be a war, I’d wish it’d start.” 

Katie frowned and handed him the tape she had selected, then smacked his arm for the comment. “Don’t jinx it, Matt.”

“Bitch.” Matt scowled, bringing his left hand up to rub at his right shoulder, positive a bruise was forming from his sister.

“Jerk.”

~~⭑~~⭑~~⭑~~⭑~~⭑~~⭑~~⭑~~

**6 Months Ago**

“Matt, I brought you this back.” Coran waved the bucket of chicken at him as he shut the front door of the cabin.

“No, thanks… I’m fine.” The younger man didn’t move his gaze from the bed in front of him, which held his precious younger sister, eyes shut and arms hanging limply at her sides. 

From this position, one couldn’t see the gaping wound in her back, but the blood that had soaked into the mattress was spread in a sick brownish-red halo around her. Matt could also still feel the dried blood crusted under his nails that wouldn’t be removed, no matter how hard he scrubbed.

“… You should eat something,” Coran murmured, moving towards the figure that sat hunched in the chair next to the bed.

“I said, I’m fine,” Matt choked out, standing up quickly and maneuvering his way over to the table and grabbing the bottle of cheap whiskey sitting there. He took a few gulps from the bottle as Coran regarded him in concern.

“Matt… I do hate to bring this up, I really do, but don’t you think it’s time we bury Katie?” Coran pleaded, his own heart hurting as Matt turned watery eyes towards him, heartbroken but strangely full of resolve.

“No.”

Coran blew out a breath. “…or maybe we could—"

“—what, torch her corpse?” Matt swallowed thickly and shook his head. “Not yet—I’m not leaving her.” He collapsed back into the chair near the bed and his gaze unwavering as he focused on the still form of his sibling.

“Matt, please—" The chair the younger man had been sitting in clattered loudly to the wooden floor as he stood up. 

“Why don’t you cut me some slack?” The glare Matt leveled on the older man felt like it could burn metal. 

Coran swallowed and reached a hand out to Matt, placing it heavily on the younger man’s shoulder. “I just don’t think you should be alone! You need to either bury her or torch her, Matt. You don’t want her coming back as a spirit.”

Matt tensed and clenched his hands into fists. He sucked in a deep breath then released it, tightening his grip on the boy’s shoulder in an effort for him to focus on his words.

“I need your help, Matt. Something big is going down, something end of the world big—" Matt jerked away from him and stared in anger.

“Well then, let it end!”” 

Coran gulped, staring directly into the red, watery gaze of the oldest Holt child.

“You don’t mean that,” he whispered, keeping his gaze low.

Matt scoffed. “You don’t think so? You don’t think I’ve given enough?" Matt swallowed, his fists clenched so tight that his knuckles turned white. “Then _go_.” The younger man raised his head, eyes flashing in the dark of the cabin.

Matt choked briefly, trying to reign in the tears, and then his eyes darted up to the older man. “Go!!” He shoved hard at Coran’s chest, breathing harshly as he stared at the plaid covering the other man.

“I’m… I’m truly sorry.” Coran breathed out, arms darting down to clench at his sides. The clench in his jaw said he was choking back a remark, swallowing instead and focusing on the bloodshot eyes of the oldest Holt sibling. “You know where to find me.”

Matt gulped and moved towards the still form of his sister. The echo of the slammed wooden door reached his ears as he stroked Katie, no, Pidge’s hair back from her face, tucking the longer strands behind her ear. He briefly mourned the shorter hair of her youth, from when they could pass for twins, and he drew in a shuddering breath and tightly gripped her cold hand.

“Pidge… Katie… I just wanted to keep you safe.” Matt shakily breathed in, bringing both of his hands to hold Katie’s left. He choked a sob, bringing her stiff hand up to meet his lips. Her cold flesh was unyielding to his own.

He wept. “I had one job. One. Job. And I screwed it up!” Matt tightened his grip on Pidge's hand. “I guess that’s what I do—just let the people I love down.” 

He sniffed and hunched over, one fist still gripping onto Katie’s stained flannel shirt. “What am I supposed to do, Pidge? Tell me! What am I _supposed to do_?”

~~⭑~~

The Impala roared as it sped down the dirt road. The driver was hyper-focused and ignorant to change. Suddenly, it slammed to a stop in front of an old oak tree and it was in the middle of a crossroad.

Inside the Impala, Matt swallowed his fear as he stuffed a small metal box with his counterfeit driver's license, dirt from a graveyard, and the bones of a black cat. He didn’t want to remember where he and Pidge had gotten the bones from but if it would save Pidge, then he would kill a million black cats to save her.

Matt breathed in deeply, then stepped outside to bury the box in the center of the crossroads. And then, he waited.

He waited ten minutes more. After about twenty minutes, his patience thinned and he bellowed, “Show your face, bitch!”

“Easy, sugar—you’ll wake the neighbors.” 

Matt gulped, turning to face the voice.

The demon possessed a very pretty body, brunette, short wavy hair, with blue eyes and glasses. Might have been his type at another time but currently, all he could focus on was Pidge. _His little Katie_ \- covered in blood and dead on a dirty mattress in a safehouse to the west.

The demon's red eyes flashed. Then, they were cooing and curling against him - as if they hoped that their host would attract him. “Matthew Holt… _Honey_, you aren’t trying to pull a _deal_, are you?”

Matt tightened his jaw. “And what if I am?”

The brunette demon curling against him chuckled and gripped him tighter. “You want to save your poor, poor little sister?”

He frowned. “Yes, I want the same deal you have offered to others. Ten years, then I'm yours.” A cackle cut off his demand, the brunette demon bent over in half as they reacted to his demand, before straightening and responding. 

“No deal.”

Matt hissed and redrew his gun. “No deal, my ass! What do I need to do?”

“Five years.” 

Matt hissed and flicked the safety on his gun.

“Three years.”

“One year. One year, no tricks or Pidgey dies. You hedge on the deal, and Pidgey dies, capiche?” The demon breathed out, glaring at the Holt that held them at gunpoint.

“Fine, deal.”

The demon’s eyes flashed again, then their arms pulled him into a deep kiss.

If it wasn’t for the fact it was a demon completing their pact, Matt would be thoroughly enjoying himself at the moment.

Several miles away, his sister’s bloody corpse jerked as she breathed in her newfound life sharply.

~~⭑~~⭑~~⭑~~⭑~~⭑~~⭑~~⭑~~

**2 Months Ago**

“Hear those cicadas? That can’t be a good sign,” Katie muttered as she slammed the passenger door to the Impala shut. Matt grunted as he closed the driver side door a bit more carefully than she had.

“No, it can’t.” Katie snorted and pulled the journal out of her interior jacket pocket as they drew closer to Coran and his own car, a rebuilt GTO Judge.

“So, we’re eating bacon cheeseburgers for breakfast now, are we?” Coran raised a ginger eyebrow as Matt continued to shove the rest of his morning burger into his mouth. Katie’s left eye twitched a bit as she smiled at Coran, and did her utmost best to ignore her brother.

“I sold my soul and got a year left to live, so I ain’t going to be sweating the cholesterol.” Matt bit into his burger in exaggeration at Coran’s words. Katie grimaced from the side of the car as she watched a glob of cheese droop out the side of his mouth as he spoke. 

Disgusting. Sometimes, she honestly wondered how they could be related.

“So, Coran, what do you think? We got a biblical plague here or what?” The older man frowned and leaned against the hood of his car, eyes taking in the tired form of his surrogate daughter. 

“Looks like the swarm we hear could be ground zero if there’s anything demon-related to be had. I can’t hear anything but the cicadas...and that alone makes me suspicious.” Coran idly brushed a hand through his thick mustache as he spoke, his words a bit muffled. 

Katie snapped the journal shut and shoved it back into her jacket pocket before wandering around to the trunk of the Impala. “I’d say we check it out. Salt or holy water?” She called out, half buried in the deep trunk, short legs nearly lifted off the ground as she located the aforementioned items.

“Best to bring both. We’ve no clue what we’re up against.” Matt said, coming around to grab the items from his sister. “Demons of any type are the big leagues.”

Katie groaned and stood up so she could shut the trunk. “Don’t remind me. I’d kill for a wendigo or spirit hunt instead.”

“Pipe it down, the both of you. Y’all need to keep quiet if we’re gonna keep up any semblance of stealth.”

“Sorry Coran.” Katie mumbled, adjusting the bottles in her jacket pockets and hanging from her belt, making sure her flannel shirt hid the items.

Materials acquired, the trio moved cautiously towards the town. Lights were off in almost all the buildings; all except what seemed to be a tavern. Katie looked first at Matt, then at Coran. The older man motioned with his head towards the building, then signaled to follow him with guard up.

Katie’s heart was thundering in her chest. Dad had taught them about demons from early on - specifically how a demon had been the one to kill Mom. And just a year ago, that same yellow-eyed bastard, Sendak, had taken his soul in exchange for Matt’s life. 

They were the worst of the worst - rare, but powerful and difficult to kill. The most you could do would be to exorcise the demon from the host or keep it cowed with holy water and salt. She never wanted to experience the crippling fear that followed that encounter ever again.

As they approached the building, they could hear rancorous laughter and classic rock echoing inside. Coran motioned Katie towards the window, then he and Matt flanked the door. Peeking in, Katie could see seven figures moving around - some taking shots at the bar, a couple hovering over something on one of the pool tables.

She inhaled sharply as one of the figures moved, revealing the body on the pool table - bloodied and torn up, and most likely dead. Swallowing, she attempted to signal to the other two how many were inside.

Before they could move in, the door suddenly slammed open and a booming voice called out from inside, “I don’t like people hovering outside my bar. Why don’t y’all come on in instead of acting like scaredy cats scrounging for scraps?” 

Katie froze and locked eyes with Matt, seeing her own terror reflected in his expression. Coran huffed and stood up fully, right arm reaching back towards his gun. 

“Well then, with an invitation like that, how can we turn it down?” He called back, gruff voice giving away no hint of his current emotional state. The older man glanced at the siblings and tapped his belt where the holy water and salt hid under his plaid shirt. 

Silently shaking and swearing at herself to get a grip, Katie stood as well, following Coran and her brother inside the dimly lit bar.

“Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in...three hunters? Must be our lucky night, fellas.” The drawling voice behind the bar sent shivers up Katie’s back.

“Hunters? What gives you that impression? Thought I cleared off most of the brush.” Coran called out, hands in his pockets like he had nothing to worry about. And indeed, if it hadn’t been for years of knowing the mustached man, she might have believed he was truly unbothered by their unsettling hosts.

The bartender grinned, glancing over at the group by the pool table. “The odor of salt gave it away...unless y’all are mermaids who learned to survive on land, which I doubt.”

Katie swallowed hard and squared her shoulders, sauntering up to the bar and ignoring Matt’s hiss–_“Katie!”_–of protest behind her back. “Hunters is right,” she said. “We just got done with a good pheasant catch and are looking for a place to celebrate. Got anything good on tap?”

The bartender’s eyes briefly flashed black at her as she approached. “Hmm. Well, we got a good, full bodied red available,” they said, a smile crawling onto their face. “Or, if you need more… fire, we have your standard ol’ Kentucky bourbon.”

She forced a grin and leaned against the bar, trying to ignore the eyes staring at her. “I’ll take a shot of that bourbon and whatever lager y’all got on tap. Oh, and two stouts as well.” Katie gestured towards the door, hoping her brother and surrogate uncle caught on.

Coran and Matt glanced at each other, then made their way further into the bar. Taking a seat at a nearby table, they kept their gaze on the younger hunter as she shot back her liquor, then with a grace neither of them were fooled by brought all three beers back to their table.

Katie kept her gaze on Matt as she took a swig of her beer, though she could feel the prickling of many eyes on the back of her neck. Coran sipped at his own glass, fingers tapping seemingly idly at the dirty wooden table.

Seven taps. Seven demons.

“So sis, think you can still take some 8-ball?” Matt drawled out, wiping the foam off his lip with his wrist. 

Katie snorted and set her glass down, grinning with false bravado. “Sure, but wouldn’t you rather play with someone your own speed? Maybe like the old man?” She picked her drink back up and grimaced when she noticed her hand shaking a bit.

Seven demons. Seven fucking demons. One yellow-eyed bastard had been hard enough for them before - had been enough to have taken out _Dad_. Now they were faced with _seven_ black-eyed ones. 

Coran met Katie’s eyes, then Matt’s, before carefully setting down his nearly empty glass. Before either of them could stand up, a heavy hand settled on Katie’s shoulder. Every single instinct in her body screamed at her to run, but every muscle froze. Coran stared hard at her, urging her not to move - as if she even could.

“Well, fellas, I think this farce is getting mighty old. And though I’ve taken a shine to the little lady here, I think we should get down to the heart of the situation.” The bartender demon grinned and leaned over her shoulder, filling her nose with the rancid scent of sulfur. She gagged a bit at the smell as his hand tightened on her shoulder, and she could feel claw-like nails digging through the heavy canvas coat and flannel.

“Let her go. We don’t want any trouble from y’all.” Coran murmured, the hand he had under the table slowly reaching for the salt on his belt.

“No, I don’t think we will. This gal smells quite a bit like us, and I’m thinking she should stay for awhile, so we can get… acquainted. Why don’t you two boys just head on out and let us get to know this little lady here.”

The words spoken by the demon echoed in Katie’s mind, flashing her back to Sendak and his claims that she had demon blood in her veins. Seeing red, she twisted suddenly in the demon’s grip and splashed holy water across his ugly face.

The demon howled, one hand gripping at his steaming face and the other swiping blindly around towards their table. Katie ducked out of the way as both Matt and Coran leapt out of their seats and turned to face the bar full of hissing demons. 

“What the fuck Pidge! We had a plan-”

“Knock it off boy, what’s done is done!” Coran interrupted Matt’s rebuke, whipping out a worn leather bible and flipping open to a dog eared section. Quickly he started reciting the exorcism on the pages, while Matt grabbed a bottle of holy water from his belt and started splashing it at the demons nearest them.

“I am _not_ one of you black-eyed bastards!!” Katie growled, grabbing her pearl-handled knife out of her jacket and slashing at the throat of a blonde demon leaping at her from the right side. Hissing steam erupted as the acidic blood hit the floor, the demon gripping their throat and staggering back.

A startled shout from behind her caused Katie to whip around in time to see Matt go crashing against a wall, sliding down with a dazed look on his face. She darted towards him, hearing Coran still reciting the exorcism and hoping with all her might that it would work - the demons closest to Coran seemed to be faltering in their movements.

_“Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus-”_

“Matt! You gotta get up, come on!” She uttered, crouching down to help him stand up. The older Holt shook his head, trying to get rid of the disorientation. He stumbled and fell back down as he tried to stand, nearly bringing her down with him. 

_“-omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica-”_

Coran’s voice choked off as he dodged a blow from the trio in front of him, stumbling back and brandishing his own vial of holy water in his opposite hand as he continued the chant.

_“Ergo, omnis legio diabolica, adiuramus te...cessa decipere humanas creaturas, eisque æternæ perditionìs venenum propinare-”_

Katie glanced up fearfully and saw Coran was barely holding his own against the three demons around him, and another was approaching her and Matt.

Before it reached them, it lit up, ablaze, like a jack-o-lantern that had been filled with candlelight. The demon convulsed, still filled with that fiery light, before smoking and falling to the floor, dead.

“Huh, looks like I missed the party invite… ”

Where the demon once stood was a brunette man lazily twirling a silver and purple dagger, flicking the acidic blood of the demon he had just stabbed off of the blade. His gray eyes narrowed in irritation as he surveyed the scene - the remaining demons who had stopped at the sudden death of their brethren, and the hunters who stared at him in shock. 

“…that was rude.”

“Who the fuck are you?” The words burst out of Katie’s throat before her brain caught up with her mouth. The man grinned at her, before darting forward and quickly stabbing the other three that surrounded Coran. Each demon howled as it lit up and dropped, and the grin on the stranger’s face widened, almost seeming manic.

“I’m the guy that just saved your ass.”

Coran seemed to shake off the shock quicker than the rest, pulling out another vial of holy water from his jacket. “We’re not out of the clear yet, get up!”

Matt leapt to his feet and dragged Katie up, nearly yanking her arm out of its socket. The remaining three demons that had been hovering around the pool tables had abandoned their bloody toy and started moving towards their group.

Wheezing in shock, she managed to steady herself enough to uncork one of the containers of salt from her belt and spread it in a wide circle around herself and Matt as the elder sibling wobbled and crashed back down to the floor. She dropped the container in his lap as he gazed at her dazedly - _concussion, she was damn sure of it_ \- then reached for her other flask of holy water.

“Stay in the circle, jerk!” Katie snapped as Matt tried again to get to his feet, failing and landing back down on his ass. Stepping outside the circle, she eyed the demon closest to her, seeing that Coran had restarted his exorcism and the stranger had engaged the other two. Uncapping the flask, she whistled and grabbed the attention of the nearby demon. 

“Hey, fugly!”

The demon, in the host of a well groomed and fairly attractive blonde woman, turned towards her and hissed at the insult, eyes flashing black as she advanced. Not wasting a moment, she splashed the contents of the flask in its face. 

It howled in rage and pain, steam erupting from its skin as it swiped blindly at her, missing as Katie darted to the side and thrust the flask at the demon a second time. 

From her right she heard the exorcism cut off sharply and the other two demons scream in pain, before she could see clouds of murky, thick black smoke erupt from the mouths of the hosts. 

The smoke swirled around the ceiling from the corner of her sight, then vanished. Turning her attention back to the demon in front of her, she started when the stranger appeared in between her and her adversary almost unnaturally fast. 

Before she could react further he had stabbed the demon in the chest, causing it to screech and light up internally, before fading and collapsing to the floor.

Katie nearly hit the floor herself as the adrenaline that had flooded her system faded. Looking around she saw that Coran was panting with exertion, but seemingly unhurt. 

Matt still sat in the salt circle where she had left him, and from the glazed look in his eye she knew she’d be spending a sleepless night making sure to keep an eye on his concussion. 

Looking back at the stranger, she saw him carelessly wipe the blade of the dagger on his dark jeans, before sheathing the blade and heading out the door into the darkness beyond.

~~⭑~~⭑~~⭑~~⭑~~⭑~~⭑~~⭑~~

**1 Month Ago**

Keys clacked loudly as Katie typed in her searches, one hand shifting between flipping pages of the journal and absently eating fries off the plate she had ordered.

Nothing yet. 

She frowned and shoved another handful of greasy, salty fries into her mouth, swallowing and returning to her search. 

Matt was off canoodling with his ex, Nyma, (though he called it information-gathering, the liar). She was a nice enough woman, and her son Beau was absolutely adorable, but Matt really should be focusing on the other families in the neighborhood that related to their case. She was positive at this point they were dealing with a changeling.

Her attention was pulled abruptly from her research as she registered the scent of sulfur mixing with the aroma of coffee. Heart stuttering in her chest as she snapped her head up from the screen, her eyes met grey as the man from the demon-filled bar fight met her gaze.

A wide grin spread across his handsome face as he grabbed a fry from her plate, tossing it back.

“Long time, no see _Katie_.”

Katie frowned at the use of her name, before leaning back in her seat and grabbing her coffee to take a sip. The smell of sulfur was fainter now somehow, but she still kept her guard up.

“Knife-boy.”

He raised an eyebrow at the nickname. “Rude.”

Snorting, she set her mug down and crossed her arms. Her eyes scanned him over in appraisal, before shrugging, “It’s not like I know your name. You know mine and I don’t get yours? Now _that’s_ rude.”

“Point.” The man smirked, half shrugging in acknowledgement. “It’s Keith.”

“So, _Keith_. You’ve been following me since Lincoln… the rabbit’s foot case.”

Keith hummed, reaching out to close her laptop before stealing a few more fries from the plate. “Mmmm… these are amazing.” He waved around a fry before shoving it back into his mouth. 

Katie scoffed, grabbing the plate with her free hand and scooting it closer to her body. 

“That knife you had,” she started tentatively, raising her mug to gulp down more of the caffeinated liquid as she eyed him over the rim. “You can kill demons with that thing?”

“Sure can,” he grinned, reaching across to steal another few fries. “It comes in handy when I have to swoop in and save the damsel in distress.” 

Katie scowled at the subtle jab, and she quickly took another gulp of lukewarm coffee to hide it. “So” she demanded. “Where’d you get it?” 

He chewed deliberately on his stolen fries, gray eyes not leaving Katie’s own stare, until he shrugged, a wicked grin in place. 

“Walmart.”

Katie huffed, raising her gaze to the ceiling and feeling very much like she was dealing with Matt on a bad day. 

She drained the last of her coffee, before gesturing towards to waitress for another refill. Once the cup had been taken she fixed her stare back on her male companion. “So. Why, then, are you following me?”

Keith glanced at her briefly, before grabbing the mustard and squirting a large amount on the empty coffee saucer that had been left when her mug had been picked up. 

Grabbing a few more fries from the plate, he swirled them through the yellow liquid before quickly munching on them. His eyes squinted at her in amusement as he swallowed, before answering, “I’m interested in you.”

“Why?” She asked, leaning forward, as if to protect her meal.

Grinning at her, he licked the salt off his fingers. “Because you’re snarky...and I looooove a well-spoken woman.” 

Katie frowned, and leveled an unamused gaze at him.

He sighed, and swirled a finger through the mustard. “...that and the whole antichrist thing too.”

Choking on her spit, Katie sputtered a bit before croaking out, “Excuse me…?”

“You know,” he shrugged, shoving another few fries into his mouth, before waving down the waitress to bring more. “Generation of psychic kids. Yellow-Eyed Demon rounds you up, celebrity death-match ensues and–” he pointed at her with a fry, grin back again, “–You're the sole survivor.” 

“How...how do you know that?” She frantically wracked her brain - he wasn’t there, was he? No, no he wasn’t, she remembered. Just the unfortunate other bastards she had either been unable to save or, in the case of Rolo, had killed herself.

The waitress setting down both her coffee and another plate of fries briefly disrupted her panic, and she shakily grabbed the hot mug, sipping at the near scalding liquid in her haste for a distraction. 

Keith made a brief happy noise at the fresh plate of fries, swiping the plate closer to himself as he started munching on the warm potatoes. After a bite or two he wrinkled his nose, then swiped the salt and shook it a few good times over the plate.

“Much better,” he said, a little blissfully. “Never enough damn salt on these things sometimes.” He hummed, swirling a few through the mustard before chomping them down. “As far as how I know, let’s just say I have my inside sources.” Keith grinned up at her, mustard staining the corner of his smile.

Katie frowned, setting her coffee down with as steady a hand as she could manage, though the shuddery clink of the porcelain on the formica told her she hadn’t quite succeeded in her task. “What sources would those be?” 

Keith hummed a bit, then shrugged. “The...demonic kind?” At her gaping stare, he frowned and leaned back into his seat. “What, like that’s so hard to believe?”

“Yes! Yes it is! How on earth could you have demonic sources?” Katie snapped, smacking the table with her left hand, the right pointing across the table at his throat.

He sighed deeply, raising his gaze to the ceiling before looking over at her in boredom. The grey iris and whites of his eyes vanished as deep red overtook his sclera, before completely disappearing with another blink.

“I have my ways.” Keith took in her shocked countenance, as her wide eyes glanced between him, to his plate of salt-laden fries, and back to his eyes. “And please...salt at this point has become a welcome spice, so give me a little respect.”

A weak response seemed to gurgle from her throat, before she shook her head and steadied herself. Eyes that briefly closed in respite opened, though they narrowed at the man across from her. “Why then. Why have you...a demon, taken an interest in all this?”

“Not everyone down under likes the current pecking order. And to be honest, if I had to choose a winning side, I’d rather stake my bets on the antichrist than the ones running the show at the moment.” He raised his eyebrow at her dumbfounded look. “What, hellhound got your tongue?”

“You...you..._the fuck_-”

Keith waved a hand lazily at her sputtering self, and shoved a final handful of fries into his mouth with the other. Chewing noisily, he slid out of the booth and stood, nearly looming over her smaller form still seated at the table. He swallowed, then gave her a wicked grin as he mock saluted her.

“Don’t worry, you’ll see the value of my help soon enough.”

“The hell does _that_ mean?” 

He sobered up, then leaned closer to her, one hand pressing onto the table in front of her torso. Face drawing close enough she could smell the salt from his meal on his warm breath. Katie’s breath stuttered in her chest, half in fear and half something she couldn’t, or wouldn’t, identify.

“I can help you save your brother.”

Her heart stopped.


	2. Chapter 1 - Devil's in the Details

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge and Matt experience a gruesome groundhog day, a familiar face, and a deal is struck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Chapter Songs**  
4\. Asia, "Heat of the Moment"  
5\. Adam Jensen, "The Hunter"  
6\. Sum 41, "Out for Blood"  
7\. HIM, "Wicked Game"

**1 Week Ago**

_Heaaaat of the moooment...._

Katie jumped as the radio alarm went off, nearly falling out of bed. Asia’s “Heat of the Moment” rang in her ears and she groaned as she looked at her brother, wide awake and pulling his boots up.

“Rise and shine, Pidgey!”

“Asia. Really, Matt?”

“Awww, it’s a classic, Pidge!” Matt mouthed the words to the song as he finished tying his boots and slapped Pidge’s leg. She groaned at her brother’s antics and rolled out of bed, sleepily making her way to the bathroom.

Matt grinned and smacked her backside, making her yelp. “Hurry up, we gotta get breakfast! I’m starving!”

Katie yawned as she finished pulling her hair into a ponytail and sauntered out to join Matt. He grinned and shoved his handgun in its holster as he motioned to his sister to hurry up. She flipped him the bird and grabbed her own Glock and cell phone from the nightstand to slip them in the pockets of her jacket.

The diner they pulled up to advertised several specials, one in particular grabbing the attention of the older Holt. “Hey Pidgey, look, Tuesday, Pig in a Poke!”

She groaned as they sat down at an open table. “Do you even know what that is, moron?”

Before Matt could answer, the grandmotherly looking waitress sauntered up. “What can I get you folks?”

“Give me a special, bacon and eggs, and a coffee.”

Katie piped up, “Make it two coffees, and a short stack.”

As the waitress left to put in their orders, she pulled out her laptop and started searching for information on their recent case in the town. Matt groaned and slumped against the table, looking up at Katie with irritated amber eyes.

“I’m telling you, Pidge, this case is small fry. We should be spending our time hunting down Acxa since she stole the Colt…we need that damn gun back.”

“Oh yeah right! Now, tell me...where is she again, Matt?”

Her brother scowled and flipped her the bird. Katie sighed and turned her screen towards him.

“Trust me, I want to find that bitch as much as you do. In the meantime, we should focus on this. Professor Mitch Iverson was passing through here last week when he vanished.”

“Last known location?” Matt inquired, sitting up a bit as he squinted at the text on her screen.

“His daughter said he was headed to the Arizona _‘Mystery Spot.’_ ”

Matt snorted and clicked on the tab for the _‘Mystery Spot’_ in the browser. _“ ‘Where the laws of physics have no meaning’_? Oh man, you don’t seriously believe this, do you, Pidge?”

Katie shrugged and made a face at her brother. Before she could answer, the waitress stopped by with their coffees. Taking the cups gratefully from the server, the two silently agreed to put off further debate until after caffeine and food.

~~⭑~~

After breakfast they made their way out towards the proclaimed _Mystery Spot_ \- Matt grumbling and bitching the entire time.

“You know shit like this is just a tourist trap, right?” He grumbled, flipping through the brochure he had grabbed from the diner lobby as they walked.

Katie sighed and shoved her hands into her jacket pockets. “True, but there are places that are considered holes in the world. The Bermuda Triangle, the Oregon Vortex-”

“The Arizona _‘Mystery Spot’_?” Matt piped up, giving his sister a sideways glance.

A strangled, irritated screech caught in Katie’s throat, “Look! All I’m saying is that sometimes these places are legit!” She snapped, smacking him with her copy of the brochure.

Matt sighed and stopped walking. “Alright, if it is legit - and that’s a _big_ if - what’s the lore?”

As Katie stopped to explain she bumped shoulders with a taller man passing them by, a quick “Excuse me!” leaving his lips. As distracted as she was, she barely noticed the man. Shaking it off, she turned towards her brother.

“The lore on these types of places is pretty crazy. In theory, the magnetic fields are so strong they can bend space-time!” She babbled excitedly, the science nerd-side of herself coming out fully.

Matt snorted and started walking again, “Sounds a bit X-Files to me.” He swore as he accidently bumped into a piano two men were attempting to move into a building.

Sighing at his language and rolling her eyes, Katie nudged her brother. “Look, I’m not saying this is really happening, but if it is...we gotta check it out, see if we can do something, okay?”

“Alright. Alright, we’ll go tonight after they close and get ourselves a nice, long look.”

~~⭑~~

Later that night they snuck into the building, guns in hand out of habit, as blacklight cast an eerie glow upon everything. Katie stepped carefully around a tilted display of a table and food, obviously fake, as Matt snorted at a table and chairs pinned to the ceiling.

“See anything suspicious? I think I saw Mothman!” Matt called out, laughter evident in his voice.

Katie scowled, unamused with his teasing. “No. Not yet.”

Matt turned around to observe a giant shark’s head protruding from the wall. Turning to comment to his sister, he was suddenly faced with the barrel of a shotgun.

“What are you doing here?!”

Matt and Katie both froze, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, we can explain…” Matt said, both their hands raising in the air to show they were not a threat.

The skittish man wielding the shotgun twitched and aimed the gun at Katie, sputtering, “Are you robbing me?”

Katie gulped and tried to steady herself as she replied “Look, no one is robbing you, calm down…”

As Matt shifted towards his sister, the man twitched again and aimed the barrel at Matt this time.

“I’m just putting the gun down….” Matt uttered, starting to slowly lower the hand that held his pistol. The owner panicked, shouting, “Don’t move! Don’t move!”

With a sudden blast, the shotgun went off, and Matt jerked as he was hit. Katie screamed as her brother fell back and hit the floor.

“Matt!” She dove towards him on her knees as she cradled him in her arms. “Matt, hold on, please hold on!”

Turning towards the man she uttered, “Call 911!” He twitched, shotgun barrel lowered as he uttered, “I didn’t mean to...I didn’t mean…”

She growled and snapped, “_Now_!” The man jumped and ran towards the hallway as Matt jerked in her arms, choking.

Katie tightened her grip on her brother, putting pressure on the wound. The feel of the warm liquid soaking his shirt and pooling under her hand made her stomach turn. “No, not like this - you hold on!!” Matt’s eyes darted to hers, holding the gaze as he struggled for air.

“No, no, no! Matt, come on!” She pleaded. Desperately, she pressed harder against the wound, her other hand gripping at his shoulders. With every heartbeat, she could feel blood pulsing against her palm as it exited his wounds. With a low hiss, Matt’s eyes unfocused, before sliding closed, his body falling limp in her arms.

“Matt...?” She jostled him, trying to get a reaction. His pulse was non-existent under her hands, and his eyes stared blankly at her. She could feel the stuttering in her chest as she realized he was dead. Actually, truly, dead. “_Matt!_”

~~⭑~~

Katie jumped as the radio alarm went off, nearly falling out of bed. Asia’s _‘Heat of the Moment’_ rang in her ears and she stared in shock at the radio, chest heaving. Her eyes shifted to look at her brother, very much alive and perched on the other bed.

“Dude, Asia!!” Matt looked over at Katie as he finished tying his boots and smirked, “Oh come on, you love this song and you know it!” He reached over and turned up the volume, Katie’s wide eyes following his movements.

Matt mouthed the words to the song as he moved off the bed and started to gesture wildly at Katie. She stared in shock at him, before shaking her head and making her way into the bathroom. Her brother eyed her as he got ready next to her, finally asking “You alright?”

She glanced at him, pulling her hair into a ponytail. Frowning, she hesitated for a second before replying, “I...had the weirdest dream.”

He snorted, looking in the mirror for blemishes, “Yeah? Clowns or midgets?”

Katie stared at him, before shaking her head and walking out. As they headed into the diner from before, Katie sucked in a breath. It was just a weird dream, right?

As they settled into a...very familiar booth, Matt suddenly perked up, “Hey Pidgey, look, Tuesday, Pig in a Poke!”

She stopped and looked at him, eyes wide. “It’s Tuesday?”

Matt eyed her, like she had suddenly sprouted wings. “Yes…?”

Before Katie could answer, the grandmotherly waitress showed up. “What can I get you folks?”

“Give me a special, bacon and eggs, and a coffee.” Matt drawled, winking at the waitress.

Katie hesitated, gaping at her brother in apparent shock, before quietly responding, “Uh, nothing for me, thanks....”

Matt squinted his gaze on her as the waitress left, observing how jumpy and sweaty his younger sister was. “You sure you’re okay?”

Katie twitched a bit, looking around her as she frowned, “You, you don’t remember any of this?” She queried, staring at Matt.

Matt looked right, then left, before staring at her, “Remember what?”

She swallowed and leaned forward. “This. Today? Like- like it’s happened before?”

Snorting, Matt crossed his arms and leaned back. “You mean like déja vu?” Katie groaned at his response and dragged her hands over her face.

“No - like it’s _really_ happened before. Forget déja vu - like we’re really living yesterday over again!”

For a moment it looked like Matt was going to make a joke, before his face set into a neutral expression and he leaned back in his seat. “You sure you are okay? No...visions or anything?”

Katie sighed and rested her head on the table. Her response was muffled when she replied, “No...no visions. Just feeling a bit like Bill Murray currently.”

Matt blinked in confusion, not even noticing when the waitress dropped off his coffee.

~~⭑~~

“I mean it Matt!” Katie eyed the same dog that had barked at them the....day before.

“Look, I’m sorry Katie, but I just don’t get it?” Matt shrugged, eyeing his sister as they made their way back towards the Impala.

She twitched a little, gesturing with her hands, “Look yesterday was Tuesday? But today is Tuesday too!”

Matt snorted “Yeah, no, good. You’re totally balanced.”

Katie growled and threw her arms in the air, “So you don’t believe me?” She grunted and was thrown off when she was bumped into by a blond man. She stopped and stared after him. Wasn’t that the same man from yesterday…?

“I’m not saying that, I’m just saying that it’s crazy even for us. Like _dingo-ate-my-baby_ crazy.” Matt shrugged and continued walking, narrowly avoiding two men trying to move a piano up a set of stairs.

Katie stopped in place, brain whirling with information. “Wait! The _'Mystery Spot_'! Maybe it-” She trailed off, gesturing wildly. Matt stopped as well and looked at her, motioning as if to keep her going.

“What if...? No, we need to go there. We need to check it out!” She sputtered, determination renewed as she started walking again.

“Okay, okay, we’ll go after close and then-” Katie smacked an arm across Matt’s chest, stopping him mid sentence. 

“No. No, we’ll go–why don’t we go now? Business hours, nice and crowded.” Matt stared at her worriedly, before shaking his head.

“My god, you’re a freak.”

“Matt!”

Matt threw his hands up, turning around to keep walking. “_Okay_! Whatever, we go now. Jesus,” he huffed.

Katie sighed, and followed after her brother. He approached the crossing, looking to his right before starting to walk. As Katie approached, intending to follow, a car barreled forward from the left, smacking into Matt with a sickening _crack_ and _crunch_.

The impact was instantaneous, and as the tires squealed to a stop, her brother’s body landed on the pavement with a heavy thud.

“Matt!!” She croaked, making her way to her brother’s disjointed body on the ground. He was twitching, face pressed to the pavement where he had landed, legs and arms twisted unnaturally. Blood dribbled out of his mouth and the wounds on his face as he struggled to breathe.

Gathering his broken form in her arms, she turned his head with one hand as she whimpered his name over and over, turning to look briefly at the driver. The driver looked out, made a face, then carried on his way. She screamed an obscenity at him, before turning back towards her brother, panicking at the vacant look in his eyes.

“No, no, no, Matt! Come on, please…” She shook him once, then not seeing a reaction, shook him again. “Matt! _Matt_!”

~~⭑~~

Katie’s snapped open as the radio alarm went off, laying deathly still in her bed, not even daring to breath. Asia’s _‘Heat of the Moment’_ rang in her ears - again - and she stared in shock at the radio, chest heaving as she suddenly pitched forward to sit up. Not daring to believe it, she slowly shifted her gaze to her right, only to see Matt sitting on the other bed lacing his boots.

“Rise and shine, Pidgey!”

The whole time during their morning routine Katie couldn’t stop staring at Matt. She was going crazy, wasn’t she?

It got worse as they entered the diner and sat down. Matt noticed how twitchy she was and tried to joke about it, but before she could respond the waitress arrived to take their order. Matt opened his mouth and-

“He’ll take the special, eggs and bacon, coffee black and nothing for me.” Katie rattled off, gripping the table edge; the waitress raised an eyebrow and with an _‘Oookay then…’_ sauntered off to put in the order. 

Matt watched Katie’s sweaty form for a moment before he grinned and leaned back in the booth. “Pidge, it makes me all tingly inside when you take control like that-”

Katie gripped the table tighter before leaning forward. “Quit screwing around Matt!”

Matt reared back for a second at her sharp tone, before narrowing his eyes and leaning closer towards her. “Okay, whoa, I’m listening. So, you think you’re in some kind of-”

“Time loop.” Katie uttered, twitching a little as she glanced around them. Matt nodded.

“Like Groundhog Day?” 

Katie nodded fervently and slammed her hands on the table. “Yes!” Her excitement faded as she noticed the understanding smile and nodding of Matt become more joking, and she visibly wilted. “...aaanndd you don’t believe me.”

Matt chuckled a bit and shrugged, “I mean it’s a bit crazy even for us, like-”

Katie grimaced and cut him off, “_-dingo-ate-my-baby_ crazy?” He reared back a bit, eyes wide at her response.

“How did you know I was gonna-”

“Because you’ve said it before,” Katie shot back, shoving back from the table and crossing her arms.

“Okay look, I’m sure there’s a rational explanation for this…” Again Katie cut him off, growing more visibly agitated as she fiddled with the silverware on the table.

“Look Matt, you’re just going to have to believe me on this-”

“And why is that?” Matt frowned at her.

“Because you owe me that much!” She uttered, growing louder the more she spoke. 

“I... What? Sis, calm down!”

“I can’t, Matt! I can’t calm down!” She croaked out, anxiety and fear the main energy in her words.

Matt’s demeanour changed, his face no longer irritated. “Katie, Katie, it’s okay,” he tried to placate her. “Why not?”

“Because you die!” She nearly shouted, ignoring everyone else around them. 

Gulping in a breath, she scrunched her eyes shut and tried to regulate her breathing. Snapping her eyes open again she focused on her brother’s amber gaze, twin to her own. Katie swallowed back a sob, staring definitely into her brother’s eyes. “Because you die today.”

The air was tense for one more moment, and then, Matt scoffed. “I’m not gonna die today, seriously?”

“Twice. Twice I’ve watched you die, Matt! And then it all fucking resets. Like Bill fucking Murray in goddamn _Groundhog Day_.” She swallowed back the lump in her throat, feeling her eyes burn with the tears that wanted to escape. “And I can’t- I won’t do it again, okay? You’re just going to have to believe me.”

Matt gazed at her, taking in the bags under her eyes and the red that tinged them. “Alright. I believe you.”

~~⭑~~

They made it back to the _'Mystery Spot'_ during business hours with no further incidents (though Katie was holding her breath regardless).

The owner–same one that had shot Matt the first night–was more than happy to accept the two _‘reporters’_ that wanted to cover the Mystery Spot. 

Katie pressed him for details, to no avail; he was too evasive, to the point she got really aggressive with him when he kept dodging her questions. Matt finally pulled her outside, claiming she needed air.

“Seriously Pidge, you need to pull back the _‘bad cop’_ routine. What gives?”

Katie groaned and ran her hands through her hair, thoroughly messing up her carefully styled bun. “I know, I just…”

Matt’s stance softened, and he pulled her into an awkward hug. “Hey, I get it. We just need to make sure I don’t die, right?” She nodded against his chest. “Then it’s settled. We head back to the motel, and chill there for the night.” He pulled away, giving her a confident grin. As they made their way out into the night, he called back “How about takeout? I’m feeling some Chinese myself-”

He was suddenly cut off as the piano from earlier slammed down right on top of him. 

Blood sprayed onto Pidge, the building wall, and the nearby parked cars. 

Almost robotically she reached up and wiped the warm liquid away from her eyes, catching sight of chunks of brain matter and other viscera littering the dark blood splattered on the wall next to her. 

A pool of blood was steadily emerging from beneath the splintered bottom of the formerly grand piano. Pidge gagged and looked away from the sight, looking first at the mover who held the pulley rope, then up at the other mover a few stories up who was supposed to be pulling the piano onto the balcony.

Her breathing sped up, and she could feel the beginning of a panic attack encroaching on her.

_Heaaaat of the moooment...._

~~⭑~~

“We just need to make sure to not leave the room…”

The sound of the water hitting the shower wall and Matt’s poor singing barely registered in Pidge’s mind as she paced around the room, biting her nails.“Yeah. That should work...right?”

“Hey Pidge, did you say something?” The muffled voice of her brother echoed out from the partially closed bathroom door.

“No....sorry just talking to myself as usual!” She called out, stopping near the hotel window. Staring out at the parking lot, Katie frantically tried to think of any curses or hexes that could cause this type of effect. She had already nearly torn apart the room searching for hex bags, but had found no sign of the little disgusting bags of spell materials.

The sounds of someone slipping, a loud yelp, the echoing thud of something heavy, and the crack of bone on porcelain broke through her thoughts. 

She closed her eyes in agonizing frustration.

_Heaaaat of the moooment...._

~~⭑~~

“Hey, do these tacos taste funny to you?”

Hours later, the sound of vomiting cut off with a harsh gagging noise. Katie rolled over in bed, facing the bathroom door where she could see the now still form of her brother slumped over the toilet seat, choked to death on his own fluids.

_Heaaaat of the moooment...._

~~⭑~~

“Pidge? Did you unplug my electric razor? Stupid thing-”

The scream of pain nearly covered up the sound of crackling electricity and the vibrating hum of a current connecting. The smell of burning meat, almost like a southern barbecue, filled the air.

_Heaaaat of the moooment...._

~~⭑~~

Blood splattered and ran down her face, coating the bed and wall behind, lumps and bits of brain matter and flesh splattered amongst the liquid gore. The smell of gunpowder still lingered in the air as Matt’s body dropped to the mattress from her arms. Sunlight trickled into the room from the single bullet hole in the wall.

_Heaaaat of the moooment...._

~~⭑~~

_Heaaaat of the moooment...._

~~⭑~~

“You sure you aren’t gonna order anything?” Matt asked, shoving another piece of bacon into his mouth.

Katie stared at him from across the table with hollow eyes, the dark bags underneath highlighting her lack of amusement at his query. “I’m good.”

He eyed her warily, “Suuuuure you are. At least get some coffee, you’re a right bitch without it.”

Barking out a bitter laugh, she slumped down in her seat, gaze wandering around to look at anything but her doomed sibling. Everything was the same.

Same as the last hundred Tuesdays she had lived.

“So, what’s the deal with this case? Vamp nest? Ghouls? Salt and burn?” Matt asked, eyeing her over his coffee mug. 

She glared at him balefully before straightening up and slapping her laptop on the formica tabletop. Opening the web browser, she pulled up the information she had shown him numerous times now, turning it towards him and boredly gesturing at the screen.

“_'Mystery Spot'_. A professor disappeared, daughter looking for him, suspicious circumstances, blah, blah, blah.”

Matt chugged the dregs of his coffee and set the mug down heavily. Glancing at the laptop screen, then at his sister’s crazed face, he frowned. “Did you get enough sleep last night? Or did you get any of those crazy visions again?”

Katie let out a pained noise, dropping her head in her hands as her elbows braced against the tabletop. “No. No visions. No crazy, no lack of sleep.” Slumping down, so her chin rested on the table with her arms splayed out on top towards her brother, she huffed and rolled her eyes up at him.

He frowned, still uncertain of her mental state and the clear exhaustion showing on her face. Opening his mouth to speak, he snapped it back closed as suddenly Katie jerked up, and whipped her head over to look at a customer exiting the diner. 

She couldn’t see anything remarkable about the man, other than looking like your usual disgruntled college student on a hunt for the nearest source of caffeinated goodness.

“Matt….I’m going to check something out. Can you text Coran about what I told you?” Katie stood up and started moving away from the booth. She hoped by distracting Matt she could both avoid his death as well as eliminate possible factors in his death.

“Is that really the smartest thing to do in your current mindframe…?” He muttered to her retreating back, pulling out his phone to message the older hunter.

~~⭑~~

Exiting the diner, she realized the blond moving down the street looked remarkably familiar, like he had trained with them before. Or maybe had been one of the hunters who worked with Krolia and Romelle? She shook herself and moved closer. Either way, he was the key to getting the bottom of this fucked-up simulation, she could feel it in her gut. Waiting until she had gotten close enough, she found her opening and struck.

The taller blond male she had shoved into the nearby alley and against a brick wall grunted. His amber eyes widened in shock before narrowing in anger. “What the fuck?”

“Oh cut the crap, asswipe. You’re the only variable that’s changed - why?”

“Look lady, you’re talking crazy - what variable?” He struggled against her surprisingly strong grip on his upper arms.

Snarling in exhaustion-fueled rage, she whipped out her dagger from the sheath hooked on the back of her belt with her right hand, the other tightening its grip on his arm. 

Dagger pressed tight against his throat, not enough to cut but enough to feel the sharpened edge, she watched as his adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, eyes widening.

“Now...I’m gonna ask you again. Why are you the only thing that’s changed? _What_ are you?”

Pressing the dagger a bit harder against the vulnerable skin, a trickle of blood emerging as she knicked the surface, she waited. Watching his wide amber stare glance between her and the opening of the alley, before closing.

“Oh, Pidgey…”

Her breath caught in her throat at the mocking nickname coming from the male. His eyes opened–now a bright, almost unnatural blue–before his lips twitched up into a mocking grin.

“You just couldn’t let me have my fun, could you~?” He sing-songed, features melting into a countenance that was familiar to her, and her stomach dropped like a stone.

“Lance?” Katie breathed, stumbling back in shock, the arm still holding the dagger up defensively, and almost minutely trembling. “No...we killed you! We killed you at the university!”

He snorted, cracking his neck and grinning at her almost pleasantly. “But, did you _really_?”

“But the stake...you’re a trickster...we did everything by the book!” She sputtered, backing up as he took a step towards her. 

Exhaustion, both emotional and physical, made her facade crack a bit more. She should have known—should have _known_ something like a time loop could only be the work of a powerful trickster, and Lance was by far the most powerful one they had come across yet. 

The fact that the blood-dipped wooden stake hadn’t been enough to kill him last time proved that they weren’t dealing with the average trickster… maybe even something on the level of Loki himself.

She should have brought Matt as back up—even if he died again and reset the cycle. At least now she know what and who they were dealing with—deaths be damned she _needed_ the backup. Swallowing hard Katie kept her eyes on the tall, now brunette male in front of her, dagger still held up in a modicum of protection.

“But...why? Why Matt? Revenge?” She choked out, trying to keep the trembling of her weapon hand at bay, only noticing her failure to do so at the glinting mockery in his gaze.

Lance stopped moving, cocking a hip and looking skyward as he crossed his arms. Pretending to think, he tapped one foot in a steady pattern, before focusing his gaze back on the nervous woman.

“Surprisingly, no, not revenge.” He tossed out casually, pulling a hand out to study his nails almost in boredom. “I’m petty, but not _that_ petty, little Pidgey.”

“Then, _why_? Why make me live out a fucking _hundred_ Tuesdays?!”

He sighed, looking at her almost pityingly. “I’m only trying to prepare you for the inevitability of Matt’s fate, Pidgey-Pidge. Your brother is going to die—you just need to accept it.”  
Katie inhaled sharply at his response, legs finally giving out in her shock as she collapsed to her knees, legs splayed out awkwardly to the sides. “...No.” She breathed out, raising her eyes up to the blue ones watching her.

“No?”

“No. No, Matt is _not_ going to die. Even if I have to sell my own soul to guarantee it.” Katie whispered.

Lance sighed heavily, his eyes looking skyward again, as if all the answers could be found in the cloudy gloom. “Fine. _Fine_. I did my part.”

He lowered his gaze back down to her crumpled form again, blue eyes like twin pieces of ice. “Consider this my last warning then, and my last _willing_ interference. You _need_ to accept that Matt is going to die, that he is going to go to Hell. Or else you are going to go down a path that no one—not even Matt—is going to be able to save you from.”

As he spoke, he moved closer to her until he was directly in front of her, before crouching down and looking her in the eye for his last statement. Her heart stuttered in her chest as he shifted into her personal space, face moving until it rested against her neck. 

She breathed as steadily as she could as his lips dragged against her pulse, before he bit down. Katie swore in pain from the action, her hands moving up to grip her nails into his shoulders. As his mouth released her skin, he moved away to see her face. 

“Just a little token to keep this warning in mind.”

The serious look in his azure gaze accompanying his words unnerved her a little, before he suddenly smiled, albeit sadly, and snapped his fingers.

All went black.

~~⭑~~

_He's gonna recommend you to the spirit in the skyyyy..._

Katie jumped as the radio alarm went off, nearly falling out of bed. _‘Spirit in the Sky’_ rang in her ears and she suddenly sat up as she realized it was a different song than before. Nearly choking on relief as she spotted Matt coming out of the bathroom, toothbrush still half in his mouth as he looked at her in concern.

“Dude, how much did you drink last night? You _never_ sleep longer than me!”

“...the fuck?” Katie muttered, looking at the clock, then Matt, then her hands. “Drinking?”

Matt cackled around the toothbrush, foam emerging around the edges of his mouth as he laughed at her. “Dude, I can no longer call you a lightweight; you and that blond dude totally shut down the bar!”

“Blond dude…?” She croaked, flopping back down and eyeing her brother from her position half-under the blankets. Matt waved at her to indicate he needed to finish, disappearing into the bathroom before emerging a few minutes later.

“Yeah, the pretty hot dude you were chatting with. If he didn’t have his eyes firmly on you I might have tried to tap that~” Matt purred out, and Katie groaned and threw a pillow at her brother’s head.

“Ewww, freaking horn-dog I swear…” She muttered, staring at the ceiling as she heard her brother turn back into the bathroom.

_So, was it all a dream then?_ The ache in her neck begged to differ, and as Matt vacated the bathroom she moved to bathe and check her own skin.

Sure enough, post-shower she was able to see a faint outline of a bite on the right side of her neck, near the junction between her neck and shoulder. She swore violently and left the bathroom to find the nearest source of caffeine. 

Fucking tricksters.

Fucking _Lance_.

  


~~⭑~~⭑~~⭑~~⭑~~⭑~~⭑~~⭑~~

  


**Present**

Katie grimaced, knees cracking as she stood from her crouched position and wiped off the dirt that caked her hands. Matt’s Impala was stopped behind her, wheels sunk down a little in the gravel and dirt of the rarely used road. 

It had been ridiculously easy for her to slip out of the room and steal the car for the night. Its owner was passed out back in their hotel room 30 miles away, sleeping off his recent bar visit. Her brother was growing more and more reckless the closer the deadline loomed.

Three months left. Three months until Matt would be dragged to Hell by the demon he dealt with, all just to save her own damned soul. She swallowed against the growing lump in her throat as she thought about it. 

Not for the first time, she cursed Matt’s self-sacrificing nature, and fervently prayed to a God she still barely believed in that this foolhardy plan of hers would work.

She could still hear Matt’s screams each time he died in the cursed reality where that Trickster Lance had kept her. She had been trapped in an endless loop that reset every time Matt died, and each death was more ruthless and bizarre than the last. 

Once she finally broke free of the cycle, she found that she had survived a hundred days of hell inside, while only a single day had passed outside the loop.

_I’m only trying to prepare you for the inevitability of Matt’s fate, Pidgey-Pidge. Your brother is going to die—you just need to accept it._

Lance’s nonchalant warning rang through her head again, sending a shudder down her spine as she stared blankly out at the desert; the distant plateaus smoldering in the fading glow of the sunset.

The small box that now rested under the dirt of the crossroads contained one of her many fake IDs, the bones of a black cat, and graveyard dirt. Standard ingredients for demon summoning.

“I can’t believe I’m actually doing this,” she muttered.

“Reconsidered my offer?”

Katie spun around at the unfamiliar voice, only to find a figure dressed in black leather lounging on the hood of her brother’s Impala. Violet eyes glinted at her mischievously, then flashed red.

This couldn’t be the demon she had attempted to summon. Keith was a brunette with grey eyes, not this dark haired stranger.

“...Keith?”

“Who else would still bother answering summons from a Holt?”

Meeting the red eyes, she relaxed her stance a bit. Now _that_ definitely sounded like the sarcastic tone of the demon she had become acquainted with. Regardless of how many times he had helped her and Matt with the Devil’s Gate demon outbreak, part of her still did not feel entirely at ease working with a demon.

“New host?”

“You were all up in arms about the last one still having a soul,” Keith said. “This one is empty as can be. Brain dead due to some motorcycle accident, as per your terms.”

She snorted and crossed her arms. Her so-called _terms_—what a joke. It was fairly easy for demons to change hosts, but many got attached to their preferred _“meatsuits”_ (as they called them). Katie knew Keith had quite liked his last host, calling him a prime cut of human flesh. He must be desperate to get her to make a deal if he was willing to go along with her moral objections and change it.

“So,” the easy grin on the demon’s face shifted, “As pleasurable as bantering with you is, I’m guessing you are here for more than just intelligent conversation,” he said, his tone deepening, stony and serious with business.

Frown deepening at the evasive nature of the demon, she reluctantly nodded. “You said you could help me with Matt’s deal. I’m ready to listen now.”

“Only listen?”

“Depends on what you have to say, and I’m _real_ picky about the terms.”

“Fair enough.” Keith shrugged, hopping down from the hood of the Impala and sauntering closer to Katie with a nonchalant crack of his neck. “I can help you find a way to keep Matt out of Hell—_if_ there is one; it’s not something that’s typically done.”

“You’ve said that before, but what resources do you have that I don’t? You know that Coran’s got a library that rivals any hunter known. I’m not making deals for second-hand information,” she said, her voice as level and cool as she could keep it. “You’re not really making this worth my while, Keith.”

“Connections,” he purred, eyes flickering back to the cool violet of his host. “Connections that you, as a human—as a _Holt_—don’t have. Not to mention, insurance.”

Katie bristled. “What’s that mean?”

“And here I thought you were a smart girl.” He sighed. “You know no other demon is going to want to deal with you or Matt. A hunter’s soul is considered too valuable to Hell. Me, however…” Keith circled around her. “I consider you to be _far_ more interesting, and that’s the insurance you want, isn't it?” he asked. “A familiar face is so much easier to work with, after all.”

A shiver traveled up her spine. She fought to hide it, but his smirk told her that she failed. “How the hell am I more interesting to you than my brother?” 

“Well, you are one of the special children of Sendak. You carry his… _‘donated’_ ...blood in your veins, after a—” Keith caught the fist aimed at his face as Katie snarled and charged him. Her violent attack was a complete flip from her previous, semi-calm—or at the least controlled—demeanor.

“I’m not one of that yellow-eyed bastard’s fucking _children_!” she spat, glare digging into him like daggers. “Don’t _ever_ speak about that hellscum to me!” 

“_Oooh_, sore spot?” he sing-songed curiously. “Duly noted. I was just being honest, Pidge, calm down.”

“Only Matt gets to call me that, asshole,” Katie growled, taking a step back away from Keith.

“Again, noted.” He closed the distance, tilting his head as he considered the woman in front of him. “And to answer your question,” he said, gently redirecting the flow of conversation. “Honestly, I like you. You’ve got an edge that other hunters don’t.”

Katie huffed, trying to ignore how the head tilt made the demon look almost like a puppy.

An adorable, yet demonic, puppy.

A _really_ attractive demonic puppy. His previous host had been attractive, yes, but the current host was downright _sinful_. She almost felt like he had dug into her brain, flipped through her fantasies, and then found a host that matched those ideals. Knowing Keith, she wouldn’t doubt it.

_Down girl. Down._

“Say I agree to your...help. What do you get out of it?” she asked, trying to keep the tremor from her voice. “My soul?”

“No. Thanks to dear old Matt, I unfortunately cannot lay claim to that. A real shame for me, honestly.” He tilted his head back, thinking, and then a slow grin crossed Keith’s face. “Yours would have been a fantastic addition to the collection.”

In what felt like an instant, he had invaded her space, hot breath ghosting over her cheek. At this distance, she could see the faint freckles that speckled his host’s face, and the depth of colors that made up the heliotrope hue of his eyes.

“How about…a favor? To be cashed in at a later date?”

She sucked in a breath. “A favor...” She paused. ”Just that? And you’ll help me save Matt?”

“Correct.”

Katie stared at Keith as if she could determine if he was lying just by looking. Sadly things were never that easy with demons. She kept getting distracted by the finer details of his host, like the jewel tones of his slanted eyes, his sloping jaw, and wicked smirk.

She closed her eyes and breathed out heavily through her nose. Dad and Matt would kill her if they could see inside her head right now, but every time she thought about backing out, all she could see was Matt’s blank stare as his dead body lay bleeding out from a gunshot wound in her arms. The last death before she had broken the cycle.

Her heart clenched in her chest, and she steeled her resolve. Matt had sold his _soul_ to bring her back. All Keith was asking for was a favor.

_Whatever it takes_, she reminded herself. _Whatever it takes to save my brother from Hell._

“Deal,” she breathed out softly, her voice edged in steel.

Keith’s grin widened, and his body moved even closer to her. It took everything she had to not step back as his hand came up to tilt her head. His unnaturally warm fingers gripped her chin, the smooth skin of his thumb caressing her jaw as he leaned closer.

“I knew you’d see the light, Katie,” he breathed out, lips ghosting over hers.

“Shut up and let’s deal, asshole,” she whispered, closing the distance to seal her lips to his.

The spark of heat that raced through her was unlike anything she had felt with her previous lovers. She sucked in a breath, lips parting as his tongue darted out to dance against hers.

Is this what Matt had experienced when he had made his deal for her life? It scared Katie to know that even as she trembled in fear, a part of her relished this closeness with Keith. 

Now, as she bound herself to the demon, she _wanted_ him more than she had ever wanted anyone else.

Her head spun as she pressed closer to Keith, almost unconsciously deepening the kiss. His hands tightened his grip on her hips, pressing her tight against him. A moan escaped her, startling her, then the reality of the situation rushed back and she ripped herself away from the tempting heat of the demon in her arms.

Katie heaved a breath, staring widely into equally dark violet eyes. She gripped at her shirt, before shifting her gaze away, trying to calm her racing heart. Ignoring how unsteady her legs felt, she moved around him and started towards the Impala.

“So. Deal made. I’ll...see you later, Keith.”

A wicked smirk slowly spread across the demon’s face as he watched her open the driver door. 

“Katie?”

She stopped, halfway into the car with her hand on the door and gave him a questioning look. His smirk widened, eyes narrowing in glee.

“You might see me sooner than you think.”

The bitter taste of sulfur and copper on the back of her tongue seemed to agree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the first deal has been stuck. Update schedule will be a bit slower now since this and the previous were already completed for the zine, but I've got Chapter 2 about halfway done - just need to get the hamsters in the brain cranking again. Again thank you to [hailqiqi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hailqiqi/pseuds/hailqiqi) for zine beta-ing and for [NCJ700](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ncj700/pseuds/Ncj700) screaming about hot guys and monsters with me! ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 1 is already complete, so I'll post that in a week. 
> 
> Welcome to the monster that consumed my life during the Kidgezine, and has continued to haunt me after. Lord knows I had to do an SPN AU at some point. Special awesome help to [hailqiqi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hailqiqi/pseuds/hailqiqi) for zine beta-ing and for [NCJ700](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ncj700/pseuds/Ncj700) for also editing/beta-ing and rewatching SPN to brainstorm and scream about ideas with me. <3


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